PATENTS

Apple wins 1, loses 3 infringement cases

Apple went 1 for 3 in patent infringement rulings Thursday.

In San Jose, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said she won't consider Apple's arguments that two Samsung patents are unenforceable, because a jury found that Apple hadn't infringed them. Samsung has said the patents are essential to an industry standard for 3G mobile technology. It sued Apple last year, accusing it of infringement.

In Delaware, Apple lost an infringement case brought by Maryland patent-licensing firm MobileMedia Ideas. A federal jury decided Apple misappropriated protected technology for the handheld devices. A trial to determine damages has yet to be scheduled.

In San Diego, a jury found that Apple and LG Electronics didn't infringe an Alcatel-Lucent unit's patents for video-compression technology in electronic devices including phones and computers.

ACQUISITIONS

Oracle to buy meter data firm

Oracle has agreed to purchase DataRaker Inc. of Sausalito to expand in smart-grid analytics platforms that enable water, power and other utilities to use data to increase efficiencies.

Redwood City's Oracle, the largest database-software supplier, did not disclose the terms of the deal.

Besides DataRaker, meter data management vendors such as eMeter, now part of Siemens, Ecologic Analytics of Toshiba and Itron Inc. "have all boosted the analytical capabilities of their products," said Maxime Serrano Bardisa, a water analyst at Bloomberg New Energy Finance.

Oracle Utilities "competes closely with each of these companies and the DataRaker acquisition helps strengthen their position," he said.

BIOTECH

Rigel slips after weak drug trial

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, a developer of medicines for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, sank in early trading Thursday after its experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug didn't show more benefit than the standard therapy in a clinical trial.

Rigel dropped $2.73 to $5.70 at 8:57 a.m. in trading before markets opened in New York. The shares of the South San Francisco company had gained 6.8 percent this year through Wednesday.

Rigel's fostamatinib didn't help patients as much as adalimumab, sold by Abbott Laboratories as Humira, in a mid-stage study, AstraZeneca, Rigel's partner on the drug, said Thursday. The drug did show improvement over a placebo.

VENTURE CAPITAL

Khosla Ventures, the investment firm led by Sun Microsystems co-founder Vinod Khosla, has hired former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's advisory firm to work with its portfolio companies.

Rice, a professor at Stanford University, is being tapped to help Khosla Ventures' startups deal with political and regulatory risks as they expand overseas, the Menlo Park firm said Thursday. Her partners at RiceHadleyGates include former National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley and former Defense Secretary Robert Gates.

Khosla Ventures is among a growing crop of venture firms adding to the services it provides for startups as entrepreneurs seek more than just cash and board members.

GOVERNANCE

Yahoo picks PayPal co-founder for board

Yahoo has appointed Max Levchin to its board, as Chief Executive Officer Marissa Mayer works to restore stability to management and reverse three years of declining revenue.

Levchin is a co-founder of eBay's PayPal unit and formerly vice president of engineering at Google, where he worked with Mayer.

David Kenny and Brad Smith will step down from the board, effective immediately, leaving Yahoo with 11 directors, the company said Thursday.

Levchin, who started PayPal more than a decade ago with Peter Thiel, is a serial entrepreneur and angel investor who sits on the boards of Kaggle Inc. and Evernote Corp.